As the survivors sat back to catch there breath, a now familiar voice caught their ears.

"Well now, ain't this a sight." A man walked out from the steering section of the boat. Nick halfway shuttered at the sight. If Ellis was a country hick, this guy was a full on hillbilly. "M'name's Virgil." He smiled with yellow teeth. "Welcome aboard. Here," He leaned back to retrieve a few small bags of random chips and a five canned sodas hanging on a plastic cord. "Take a load off and have yurself a bite." They all sighed and thanked him gratefully as they dispersed the snacks.

"How long have you been out here?" Rochelle inquired as she ate away at her chex mix.

"Since the infection started." Virgil smiled, they all looked up to him in surprise.

"Since the infection?" Nick asked. "In this tiny boat?"

"Yep." The hillbilly captain smiled again. "I always knew this was gonna happen. Government secrets n' all. So I've just been stocking up. Bellow the deck I've still got me enough food to last three four more months."

Ellis took a drink. "Don't ya ever get to sleep?"

"Under there's well." Virgil said. "I would sleep on deck but it gets ta raining pretty hard some days." He stepped back up to the wheel. "So I reckon yu's been through some tough times."

"You can say that again." Coach answered.

"Yeah no joke." Ellis commented. "We've done nothin' but mostly walkin' from the evac. station in Savannah. We made it out of the hotel and over to the mall okay, but there were zombies everywhere! Literally on every floor there was somethin'. Luckily, Jimmie Gibbs stock car was still there, we were able to fill it with enough gas to get us up and out of the way. But ya know, you can only get so far in a car, especially when the roads are filled with lots of other ones. So we ended up gettin' out and walkin' over to Whisperin' Oaks, I even got to ride the Screamin' Oak and ran over a few of the bastards. Then we found the Midnight Riders stage and we set off all the lights they had until a chopper came and got us. We had just started goin' too when he decided to turn into one of those zombitches and nearly tried to kill us all, so Nick shot him and we crash landed in that swamp town."

"Whoo-ey!" Virgil responded after the story. "Well I'd definitely say yus been through some tough times!" He laughed. "But explain it to me, which one of yus is Nick?"

The other three survivors looked over to the conman only to see that he had fallen asleep with a bag of Lays in hand.

Ellis laughed lightly. The tough gambler actually looked kind of adorable. "Well that's Nick." He responded to Virgil. "I'm Ellis."

"Rochelle."

"I'm Coach."

"Well it's nice to meet yus." The captain smiled and turned back to them, tossing Coach a burlap sack. "Since it looks like yus gonna be drifting with me awhile, you might as well get a load off your backs."

Coach nodded in response and dropped in his gun, then passed it off to Rochelle who followed the pattern, then to Ellis who then laid it lightly on the floor.

"Nick can do the same when he gets up." He said.

"So Virgil," Rochelle started. "Tell us about yourself."

"Well litl' lady I was a craw fisher." The man smiled. "I got New Oreleens some of the best craw fish this side of the Mississipi"

Coach mused. "That sounds great."

"It sure does!" Virgil laughed. "But I'm assuming yus have seen the waters round here since yu crash landed. Not gonna be anymore of those things round here for a while." He then looked to his controls, his features changing slightly.

"Ellis..."

The group turned Nick's voice. He was still asleep. They then turned to Ellis questioningly.

"Hell, don't look at me!" He humphed, turning slightly and hiding his blush under the brim of his hat. "I don't know what he's thinkin'."

Virgil chuckled. "Well I guess we all know who he be dreaming bout at night." He turned back to the control panels and tapped them. No luck. He groaned and moved to the middle of the deck, opening the floor boards to the lower area he had mentioned. "Consarn'it!" He said, standing again to slam it shut and return to the wheel, causing Nick to stir subtly.

"Uh," Coach started. "Everything okay?"

"Sorry fellas, but we're gonna hav'ta make a pit stop." Virgil said, turning the boat to dry land.

"Pit stop?" Ellis asked.

"Bout out of fuel!" Virgil signaled them to look at the meter, stepping out of the way. "Need some diesel if we wanna go any further." He stopped the boat and walked onto the deck, looking to them seriously. "Now, I don't wanna sound harsh on yus, but I'm not getting off this here boat. I'll drive yus as far as the water front, but I some gas to do it. So yu all can just go to shore, get some diesel, and bring it back. Deal?"

Coach sighed, he knew it wasn't going to be the walk in the park Virgil made it sound like. "Yeah," He agreed anyway. "We can do that."

The hillbilly captain grinned. "Then let's get her don'!" He returned to the wheels and brought them closer to shore. "Yus might wanna wake up the one in the suit, he looked like he was fighting pretty good back yonder there." They pulled up shore just as Nick started waking, whatever dream he was having seriously pissing him off. He groaned and stood, stretching slightly as they hopped off the boat. "Now I'll throw the anchor just off the shore, waitin' for yus." Virgil explained, pulling away from the dock and out of the way of the dangerous shore line. "Signal at me when you get the gas!"

Nick starred at him for a moment then to the others. "What are we supposed to signal him with?"

"Oh there's flares in the gun bag." Ellis answered, picking up a axe he saw by a nearby car.

The gambler looked to him curiously. "Gun bag?"

The country boy turned to him, his features not aggravated, but annoyed. "You didn't grab the gun bag?"

"Me?" Nick asked, raising his voice slightly. "Who died and made me gun monitor."

"Pretty much everybody."

Nick was about to retaliate when Coach jumped in. "Look here yall," He said, stepping between them and pointing to a sign. "the gas station's right across the street. We coulda already been there and back by now. Come on."

He picked up a chainsaw off the back of a pickup truck a shook it, finding there to be a good amount of gas inside. Rochelle then picked up and crowbar and Nick still carried his pistol, they started walking. They went into Burger Tank, bashing all walkers and finding a few abandoned weapons to their relief. Rochelle checked the first aid box to find pills and kits, with several to spare. They gathered what they needed and headed out, the gas station coming into view.

"You wanna hear a prediction?" Nick asked, receiving a unison of variations of 'NO' from the others. "There's not going to be any gas. Watch." The approached the abandoned gas station and as sure as the conman's bet, a card board sign hung on it's fencing reading 'No Gas.' "No gas." He read aloud. "See? What'd I say?" The others groaned.

"Well," Ellis sighed. "Looks like we gotta head to this Ducatel place."

"And what makes you think they still have gas?" Nick asked sarcastically, getting an unusual, slightly aggravated look from the other man.

"Cause if they don't, we're gonna be stuck here forever Nick!" The country boy fumed.

The gambler took a step towards him, getting an inch from the brim of his hat. "Don't you get it Overalls? We are stuck here forever!" At this Ellis shoved the conman back roughly, causing him to stumble back and the others to look at him in shock. "What the hell-"

"Stop bein' an asshole." He said solidly, emphasizing every word. "You've been actin' like one since we left the last safe room, and we ain't got time for it! Let's just get the gas, get back on Virgil's boat, and get the hell out of this place!" He looked at Nick all the time while saying this, the conman starring back but he didn't dare back down from the match. He wasn't angry so much as he was just annoyed. Just because Nick pulled that stunt the other night doesn't give him the right to act like a jerk.

Nick was pissed. Not such with Ellis as he was at himself. He was acting like an asshole and he knew it, but what could he do about it? He was confused, bothered, annoyed, and stuck in this shit hole town in the middle of goddamn no where.

"Fine." He said finally, walking past the country boy and around the gas station and into the torn up street of the little town.

They jumped a fallen fence, Coach getting pounced momentarily as Rochelle shot him free, and crossed a backyard. They climbed over a RV and something strange started happening.

Ellis felt something cool land on the back of his neck, he turned to nothing behind him. "What the hell?" He turned up to the sky, seeing dark clouds rolling in over head. "It's rainin'." He called to the others.

Nick sighed and held his tongue. He hated rain.

They continued down a trashed street, walkers of all types including construction workers barreling towards them. They noticed a home made garage sale sign directing them back down the street as the one on the left came to an end.

"Hey look it's a playground!" Ellis smiled as he went towards it, shooting the walkers.

The rest of the group looked over it as they followed. "That's one sadistic playground." Nick commented as he noticed the broken slide and swingless swing set.

Ellis jumped up happily at the top of the slide, using it as almost a podium for shooting. "Watch this!" He called to them.

Nick turned in time to see the country boy slide down the rusted metal on his feet and swing his axe to decapitate one of the workers at the bottom. A grin formed on his lips. "Nice move, killer."

Ellis smiled at the remark then changed at the sound of an on coming charger. Without a second's hesitation, it came up and over the bushes via a broken fence and ran him into an alarmed car.

As the group shot at the beast they heard the angry scream of the horde and got ready to fight. Coach got Ellis to his feet, he was a bit winded and sore, but not too badly hurt. They fired as they ran, hopping the fence Rochelle's legs got splashed by spitter goo, causing her to limp. They moved hastily through some of the broken houses on the other side, cars blocking their ways around. The street was lined with walkers. Coach threw out a bottle of bile, gathering most of them into an easy target zone. It was an easy sweep, and to their luck they spotted an ambulance up ahead. To their disadvantage, a witch stood crying in front of it.

"Let's just sneak around her guys." Rochelle said. "I'm not doing very hot."

Coach laid a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "We're gonna get you healed up baby girl." He assured. "But there could be some meds in there."

"Only one way to find out." Nick said as he took aim.

"Nick!" Ellis grabbed the barrel of the gun and moved it to the ground. "Don't just go and shoot her! She could come tear you apart!" He looked to the conman concerningly. "I don't want ya to get hurt."

Nick looked up to him for a moment, some surprise and confusion on his face, then he sighed. "Look Ellis, I'm not gonna get hurt." He explained. "If I shoot her, she'll follow me. So when I do, I want you to start firing, all you got, and I'm going to haul ass." He laid a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Can you do that."

Ellis nodded and smiled smally. "Yeah, I betcha I can."

The gambler grinned. "Then let's get it done."

He motioned the others to take a step back then took aim once more. He fired once and started running, not bothering to hear her scream. Just as he predicted, the witch passed the other survivors and came straight after him. Ellis then followed behind her, Rochelle and Coach shooting too, until she gave a scraggled moan and fell face first into the street. Nick slowed to a stop and breathed heavily, the country boy caught up to do the same.

"You know," Nick said as he stood fully. "I really didn't think that was going to work."

"I was shooting." Ellis replied smiling. "So I knew it was gonna work."

The conman grinned as he passed him, heading back to the others. "Cocky hick." He commented. They returned to the ambulance, Coach in the middle of patching up Rochelle's leg. "Find anything?"

"Yeah," Coach replied, revealing an adrenaline shot and two bottles of pills, passing one to the injured girl. "Take the pills Ellis." He demanded, shooting the country boy a stern look.

Ellis pouted, groaned, and picked up the bottle while Nick took the shot. Rochelle stood, a little less wobbly but still hurt and they continued on, and another makeshift sign leading them. There was unfinished construction work lining the rest of the street, mostly mounds of upturned dirt and rocks, but plenty of workers off duty. They found the covered garage sale, a few guns locked and loaded with useless price tags, and Nick had an idea.

"Look for landmarks!" He called out, picking up a machine gun as he tried to remember how far back the children of the corn's playground was. "It might be dark on our way back."

The rest nodded in affirmation as they followed along the side of the house and onto the next street. On the side of the building, they noticed a spray can painting of a house with a cross on it. A safe room. They all sprinted easily to avoid the infected that came running down the street behind them, except for Rochelle who Coach had scooped up and tossed over his shoulder as she fired.

Ellis slammed the door behind them with a lofty bang as some of the infected managed to stick their arms inside, causing them to lose said limb. They looked around the room, not so much a house, noticing it was quite large and in two sections separated by a stair case, all of which covered in litter and boxes, but filled with much need supplies.

Everyone locked and loaded picked up an explosive of sort and some meds, Coach keeping a hold on the defibrillator. Rochelle's painkillers starting kicking in and she was able to walk again. They opened the next door and headed out of the building where they were greeted by a larger, muc more daunting looking one entitled 'Ducatel Sugar Co.' and a flashing road sign that motivated them with 'Ducatel Diesel. Last Gas 1 Mile.'.

As they pressed towards the building, Ellis' shoulders and neck were confronted by something sticking and disgusting. A smoker on the second floor had grabbed hold of him, dragging him towards and up a little ways up the building and dangling just above a hot path of goo.

"Don't shoot it!" He yelled to the others, readying their guns. "I'm fine here for a minute! Just a little hard pressed is all!" He coughed for a moment, the tongue seeming to compress around him.

Soon the bubbling goo had faded into the road and Coach had shot it source, so Nick readied his careful shot just beneath Ellis.

"Damnit, hold still!" He shouted. The country boy complied and the gambler shot, blowing away the smoker and dropping it's victim to the ground.

"Shit Nick!" Ellis coughed once as he was pulled up from the rugged street. "You jus' 'bout shot my hat."

Nick rolled his eyes and they continued inside of the building was eerie, nothing but dark rooms with multiple corners an infected could come charging out of any second. They headed out of the side, the rain visibly coming down harder than before.

"Man if this rain really comes, we gonna get washed away." Coach commented, the icy droplets falling onto his bald head at a quickening pace.

They walked around what appeared to be incredibly large pipes and through a small brick building that connected them to another part of the mill. The grounds were literally nothing but heavy metal, concrete and infected, and the overhanging sound of saddened sobs that seemed to echo off every wall.

"Shit." Ellis swore, killing his light, the shadows and rain making it difficult to see. "Seriously guys, this time let's jus' leave her alone."

They all nodded in agreement and headed carefully around the fallen machinery and steel parts, turning the corner for Coach to be barreled back by a charger. The team shot at it as it carried him back at least thirty feet and pumbled him once, twice, three times into the dirt before it fell. Nick and Ellis gave the heavy man a hand to his feet and he swallowed his pills. They followed the charger's given path back down what could be described as an alley way and the sound of cries only seemed to multiply.

"Another one?" Rochelle asked, turning another corner they saw them. Two depressed witches wandering aimlessly as they crossed paths without notice. "We have to get around them."

"Yeah," Coach agreed. "But how?"

"Climb up that ramp." Nick said, taking off towards said ramp as the twins of anguish passed, giving them a short window of opportunity.

They followed along the slope to it's peak, looking out over a dark maze of a massive crank machine. Ellis was able to count two more witches in his sights, one on the ground and one on the over head and he frowned.

"Man, Imma 'bout to start crying in a minute." He admitted. "Nick, you ever seen so many Witches? Ho-ly shit!"

"How many goddamn witches are there?" Rochelle asked, putting a hand to her head.

Nick cocked his gun and aimed it down to the on coming walkers that were attempting to reach them. "Personally, I don't care to know." He said as he pulled the trigger. "Let's just get through this mess, get the gas, and get back to the boat and out of the goddamn rain."

"Sounds like a plan." Coach responded and hopped down into the work zone, the others following.

They ran through the mill, the light of gun fire leading their way through the tight and twisted space. A hunter pounced Rochelle for a moment, knocking her over some of the fallen metal, than she was on her feet a jockey hit her from behind. The little pink beast got about a five second ride before Ellis was able to shot it off her back side, making the comment of how it didn't look dignified.

They walked cautiously around the witch that stood in their path, her growling forcing them to pick up the pace as they continued into the sunlight and away from some of the darkness. The rain had stopped momentarily, revealing deep puddles that had started rising over the dirt. They followed along the edges of connecting tanks and a docking station to another tall building. It was empty and broken, open flights of stairs that simply screamed falling, but they headed up.

The top floor was on fire, similar to that of the hotel a days before, and a rusted work elevator was placed on one side.

"I'm callin' the elevator!" Ellis announced as the pushed the button. The machine groaned loudly, followed by a horde.

Soon they came pouring in from everywhere, the stairs, the rooms, and even a load of the infected were scaling the building and coming in right next to the rikidy looking shaft. The ground fired back to back, holding out fairly well until a boomer came around the corner and splashed all for of them. They all shouted their variety of curses and wiped the vomit off them, being as careful as they could to stay where they were can not end up with a friendly firing incident.

The elevator doors squealed open and all ran inside, but Ellis was barely able to get his foot in the door when he felt the smoker's pressure around him. Nick reacted on instinct and took hold of the county boy, pulling him further inside as some of the infected tired to follow.

"Goddamnit!" Coach shouted, firing up the saw he cut through the mess of flesh and blood and severed the rancid tongue, allowing the doors to close.

They coughed through the cloud of green smog while Nick helped Ellis rid himself of the rotten muscle.

"Hey," Rochelle pointed, her coughing dying down. "There's the gas station."

"We just got to make it though the cane field." Coach commented. "Then we're home free."

"Head for the sign." Nick told them, pulling Ellis to his feet. "It's going to get messy in there. You can't see anything and the rain's starting again." He took out his syring and opened passed it to the country boy. "The second these doors open, haul your ass through the field and don't get caught. I'm right behind you."

Ellis nodded with a smile and gave himself the shot, Coach not bothering to object, and the doors opened. The country boy took off in a flash, the stalks of looming cane seeming to go by him in an endless stream as he shot at the infected that couldn't avoid his shots. The others followed, and just as Nick predicted, it was nearly impossible to tell where anyone was. There was only the sounds of mud squishing, gun fire, and yelling infected until another more frightening sound joined the group.

"Listen up, a Witch!" Rochelle called from somewhere Nick couldn't tell. "Turn your flashlights off!" He followed the instructions and pressed on, heading for the sign while being careful not to find the sobbing girl. Then he remembered Ellis.

"Ellis!" He called out, trying desperately now to find the high wired, adrenaline rushing hick as he shoved freely through the falling canes. "Ellis!" He called again.

Ellis heard this and turned as he ran. "I'm over here, Nick!" He yelled back, not bothering to look in front of him. His foot got caught on a solid pipe and he tripped, landing face first into the woman of his nightmares. She yelled at him violently and he stood within a single second, trying to out run her.

Nick heard this and ran in the direction he thought it had come from. A moment later the country boy ran by him, one hand clutching to his hat as the witch followed.

"Run!" He yelled to the suited man as a warning. "I pissed her off!" With that he was caught, the angry girl grabbing hold of his and knocking him into the dark mud as she raised her claws.

"Ellis!" Nick yelled again, firing everything he had at her as the country boy started to scream.

"Shoot her!" He demanded at he desperately attempted to hold back her hands as his shot began to ware off. "Get it off!"

The gambler man took four more shots and she fell over, her claws falling limp as Ellis struggled to get away from her. "Aw, shit!" He looked to the kids wounds, two deep and glistening gashes now decorated the left side of his torso. "Come on, I got to patch you up." He said, pulling the country boy to his feet as he make quick, somewhat sloppy work of the wound.

The two ran together through the field, hand over shoulder and firing at anything that moved in front of them. They made it out of the cane and onto the street, spotting Coach firing at the infected at came at him, and Rochelle from the other side of the cane a moment later. They looked to the empty pumps in devastation, but a sign on the outside promised gas within.

They ran inside, finding a small safe room and bright green canisters with the word 'diesel' written on the side. The closed the door and and sighed, breathing heavily.

"We made it." Rochelle commented, an astonished smile playing on her lips. "Can you believe it?"

"Hardly." Nick commented, looking to his poorly placed bandages Ellis' chest.

"What happened?" Coach asked, his eyes meeting the same thing.

The country boy picked up a bottle of pills and swallowed them. "I tripped over a witch." He answered easily.

Rochelle chuckled once. "You tripped over her?"

Ellis grinned. "Yeah. I was just yellin' back to Nick when I fell into a face plant right on top of her."

At this the black woman busted with laughter, causing all the others, including Nick, to join in.

"I guess it is pretty funny." Ellis smiled as his meds took their effect.

"You know the best part was when you ran by me." The conman jumped in. "You sounded so calm about the fact the bitch was a foot behind you. I thought you would've been more panicked."

"Well I was panickin'." The farmboy responded. "I jus couldn't get it out of my mouth. What I wanted to say was 'COMING THROUGH! WITCH ON MY ASS!'." At that they all laughed again.

"At least now we know there aren't gonna be any witches in the field on the way back." Coach commented, reloading his gun.

The others nodded and picked up a gas can each, then Ellis noticed the walls. "Ration the gas." He read aloud. "Take what you need and leave some for the rest of us." He looked to the others.

"If you caught taking more than one can you will be shot on sight." Nick read. "No questions asked. Well, I've got a gun too. Let's see who can pull the trigger the fastest."

With that he opened the door, the rain coming down hard now, making the trek even more difficult, and walkers once again lining the street. Rochelle lit up a pipe bomb and threw it out, clearing their way back to the feild.

"Let's try to stay together!" Coach called over the rolling water, the ground itself starting to flood. "This rain is making the feild worse than the swamp!" The wind was picking up too, howling around them as the sky was filled with cracks of lightening. They were making fair progress until a fit of laughter filled the air.

"Jockey, jockey!" Ellis called, getting only a slight glimpse at the beast before it pounced Nick.

He was pulled back. "I can't see!" He called with a groan, trying to reach the little humper on his shoulders. "Get this thing off my back!"

Rochelle took a shot at it, blowing it off as Ellis brought the conman back in the right direction.

"Come on yall, we're almost to the elevator!" Coach called, leading on as the building came into view.

From the small shed an ugly woman came into view and spit at them, making the top of the water turn green.

"Burning goo shit!" Nick called, sloshing away from the stuff as the others did.

Soon it was counteracted by the water, and dying out the were able to cross and shoot at the broken jawed infected. They all piled into the elevator once more and Ellis pushed the button.

"What's the plan?" Rochelle yelled to them.

"The same plan as always!" Nick responded. "Run and shoot!"

"Yeah, and don't nobody wander off!" Ellis commented.

The doors opened and no one hesitated. They shot at the infectect as they ran down the steps, being a bit more careful not to trip, and out of the side of the building. They ran along the top of the docking station, the groud below nothing but a massive pool of mucky water, and climbed up onto of one of the tanks.

They crossed the bridges from one to the next, forcing back a few tree limbs, and back to the main center of the heavy machinery. The group scaled along the cat walk, eyes peeled for the witch they had seen earlier, and jumped down onto the massive crank.

"Stay close!" Rochelle yelled, the sound of a nearby charger causing them all to turn for it's source.

In a moment it ran by them, just barely passing Coach as it ran striaght for the wall. They took the opprotunity to jump through a hole it the wall, out of the mess and onto the ground of mud and concrete. A hunter's growl echoed off the walls and pounced, this time nailing the black man to the ground for a moment before Ellis could shoot it.

"Come on!" Nick shouted to them, assisting in pulling up Coach. "Up these pipes!"

The narrow slope was a balancing act on it's own, adding the rain and the infected made it a near impossible task just to move forward. The slick path led them to the top of more canisters and a smaller, railed catwalk. They made it across to another large pipe, allowing them to take a shot a boomer that had almost splashed them from below, and continue on the catwalk.

The group jumped to the solid ground below, if you coud it that being they were still on the second floor. Nick threw a bile jar out the window, attracting all the infected to a center point into ankle deep water, and fired. They then jumped through a hole in the ground and began through the sludge, recognising the exit ways to one of the previous safe houses.

"Everyone inside!" Coach called, half jumping through the water to prevent resistance.

The rest of the team followed, Rochelle swinging the door shut with a wet sploosh and everyone sighed with relief. They were soaked to the bone and cold to the point of shaking.

"I ever tell ya 'bout the time my buddy Keith wanted to know what it would be like in a snowstorm?" Ellis asked, sitting on the first few steps of the stair case.

Coach sighed as he leaned against a wall. "Get to the point Ellis."

The country boy shivered. "He was under the snow for two hours, and I'm damn sure it wasn't this cold."

Nick clasped his hands together and blew on them, trying to warm them up as he looked to the injury on the country boy's side. The bandages we barely hanging and blood was seeping though. The gashes must've been pretty deep.

"Do you think Virgil would have a fit if we waited it out here for tonight?" Rochelle asked, looking outside to the endless wave of clouds and darkness.

"Na," Coach replied as he started for the stairs. "besides it's not like he can get very far without this gas anyways." He dropped his tank at the top of the stairs and ran a hand over his head, pushing off any water that remained.

Rochelle followed him and did the same. Ellis made no attempt to move and he rubbed his hands together. Nick simply sat down beside him and slid off his tank, health kit, and now overly weighted jacket and rested them a few steps up.

"How you holding up killer?" He asked, grabbing the first aid as he began to shuffle through the items inside.

Ellis smiled. "Pretty good." He answered. "Little sore and wet, but no harm done."

"I'll argue with you about that." Nick responded as he found the item he was looking for. "Take off your shirt."

"What?" The country boy asked, a little on hinge.

The conman rolled his eyes. "I'm going to heal you. Take off your shirt.". Ellis nodded and relaxed slightly, doing as he was told. "Good. Now lay back and take it easy... this is going to hurt a little bit." Nick warned. He uncapped the alcohol and tore off the reaming crimson gauze that clung to his wound. He dipped a few of the patched pieces of the same type of material into the alcohol and touched it to the kid's wound.

"Ah," He almost moved away with a groan. "Goddamn that stuff burns." He exhaled heavily.

"Sorry," Nick apologized, trying to be as careful as he could as he felt a sense of pity for the country boy.

"It's alright." Ellis smiled weakly. "I know Dr. Nick gonna take good care of me."

The conman chuckled and pulled the cloth away, preparing for the worst part. He looked to the kid, a serious look hidden behind a worried expression as he focused in on his bright blue eyes. "I need you to hold really still." He explained. "You're cuts are too deep to heal right on their own. I'm going to need to sew them shut. Can you handle that?"

Ellis swallowed hard for a moment then smiled again and nodded his head. "Won't be the first time I've had a needle in me anyways."

Nick grinned at this and pulled up a needle and a small set of threads. "Pick a color."

The country boy placed a hand to his chin and hmmed. "Well black is usually the standard for this sort of thing, but it's kinda over done. White is nice, but it kinda says 'I own a fancy thousand dollar suit.'."

"That suit cost me three thousand." Nick chuckled once and shook his head. "Just pick a color."

"Grey." Ellis smiled and laid his head back, looking at the ceiling as the gambler got to work, questioning his choice.

"Grey?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know, it just doesn't seem like you." Nick replied as he readied the needle, placing it strategically against the farmboy's skin before pushing it through. "Grey's cold, you know? Dark and just not pleasant. I thought you were going to pick something brighter like green or blue."

Ellis cringed for a moment as the conman began to sew, but he bit his lip for a moment then relaxed again. "Grey's a nice color." He argued. "It's cool, like myself," Nick rolled his eyes. "and it had just a nice feeling 'bout it. I dunno why a lot of people hate it." He looked over to the working man and paused for a moment. "Ya know your eyes are grey?"

"What?" Nick asked, looking to him as he pulled the final stitch on the first cut.

"I mean, I just now noticed, but your eyes are grey." The country boy explained, looking back up at the ceiling. "Ya don't hardly ever see that."

"My eyes are green." The conman argued, knowing this because he had so carefully arranged his clothing not to clash with it.

Ellis looked to him. "No they ain't. They're as grey as the clouds outside."

"Well then it's like I said." Nick responded as he continued onto the second battle wound. "Cold and unpleasant." He knew that was true. All his life he had been a cold, hard person. He was untrusting and untrustable. An arrogant, unremorseful man who took what he wanted and threw out the rest.

"No, it's like I said." Ellis argued back again. "Cool, and just kinda nice."

"Yeah, right." Nick replied sarcastically.

"Why can't ya jus' take the compliment?" The country boy asked, the gambler no longer turning to him as he worked. "You've been sayin' little things 'bout yourself ever since I met ya. 'Bout yourself, 'bout your past, but I've never seen it! Not since I first met ya have I found a single thing 'bout ya that would make me think you're a terrible person."

Nick paused as he pulled the last knot, his mind lost in a thought. What had Ellis said? He didn't think he was a terrible person? But all his life, all his history... "You don't know anything about my past." He grumbled.

"So what?" The country boy asked. "Does it even matter? It's not like your doin' whatever you were doin' before now, you couldn't even if you wanted to!"

"Yeah, but-"

"Stop makin' excuses for yourself." Ellis stopped him. "You're not the same Nick you thought you were before, not to me."

Nick turned to him fully, about a foot of space between them. The country boy's blue eyes showed all seriousness in his compassion and the gambler's grey ones held a firm grip of something he wasn't quiet sure of. They waited for a moment, both having a single identical glimmer of what they hoped would happen next and in the same hope, they both wished that the other one wouldn't ruin it. Neither of them spoke as they silently came closer together, eyes fluttering closed. They didn't really know what exactly was happening, but in that moment they didn't really care. They didn't caring about what would happen afterwards or Ro and Coach just up the stairs. Once Nick felt Ellis' breath ticking on his face he closed the gap.

This kiss wasn't like the one before, this one was slower and deeper, holding so much more. Nick felt the country boy's hand lay gently on his neck and he moved his to the base of his head. He wasn't holding him there this time, more like cradling in a way, just getting more physical contact as their lips slid together. He hadn't realized it, but in such a short period of time he had begun to miss the feeling of Ellis' lips on his own, even longed for it. Now he could tell the kid was putting all he had into it, tilting his head to get a better angle on him as they deepened the kiss.

The silent pleasure went for about a solid forty seconds before the parted, each taking in a deep breath, and looking to each other expectingly. Nick was the first to break the silence.

"Should I be pissed or apologize?" He asked.

Ellis phhed. "For a ride like that, you should be pretty damned impressed."

Nick laughed lightly and shook his head. "Cocky hick."

"Hey," Rochelle came around the corner. "Are you two alright?" She asked. The three of them noticed Nick and Ellis' hands still on each other and they tried to play it off.

"Yeah," The conman responded, pulling back his hand to scratch his head.

"He's just patchin' me up is all." Ellis explained.

Rochelle nodded. "Yeah, well, after you guys finish up we should probably get some sleep." The boys nodded and she glanced to them a final time before she returned to the main room.

The second the woman was out of sight, the two men looked to each other and sighed. Nick clipped the last string and applied gauze, more securely than last time, over top.

"Thanks." Ellis smiled.

"You're welcome." Nick responded, a small grin tugging his features as well.

"You know, uh..." The country boy broke off for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I still don't know what all this means..."

The conman broke his gaze and cleaned up the rest of the first aid kit. "Me neither." He admitted.

He stood to his feet and offered Ellis his hand. He took it gratefully and stood, placing back on his shirt, and the two headed into the main room. Rochelle was laid out on the ground, already in a deep sleep, and Coach laid nearby her not far behind.

"Night ya'll" He said, closing his eyes.

"Night Coach." The standing two said in almost unison. They looked to each other for a moment then sat down, sprawling themselves across the floor as much of the wall space was either soaked or covered up. Ellis laid flat on his back and laid an arm over his eyes, Nick turned away from him and placed an arm under his head.

He had a dream similar to the night before, much more relaxing this time around, and caused him to twist in his sleep. By this time, the country boy was just as out as the others so he didn't notice the arm that came around to hug his waist, yet rather he turned into it, laying his arm back unknowingly across the source's shoulders. They both cuddled closer to the warmth of each other, their bodies not caring for the cold wind and rain that occasionally blew through the window.

The next morning came the opposite of bright and sunny, rather it was still cloudy and icy outside. The rain had stopped at some point, but the dark rolling waves of thunder over head promised it could start again at anytime.

Ellils was the first to wake up, his eyes slowly fluttered and adjusting to the low light to realize there was a face before him. He almost jumped away but registering it was Nick he stopped. He felt a grip around his middle tighten slightly, causing a brush against his wound to send a small strike off pain shooting up his side. He took a sharp breath but refused to move. This was the second time he had seen Nick sleep and damn was he right in saying the former conman looked down right adorable.

He didn't hold the stoic, unfeeling poker face he usually did when he was awake, but instead he looked completely calm, like their wasn't a massive parade of zombies out in the streets waiting to take them as an early morning breakfast. Hell he wasn't even pouting like some people in their sleep did, in fact Ellis could swear he had the slightest smile at whatever dream he was having.

A soft moan escaped the sleeping man's mouth followed by a near inaudible "Ellis...".

"Nick?" The country boy responded, waiting to see if he would reply.

The man stayed silent, but when his grip once again tightened Ellis let out a yelp in pain, causing the man to stir.

"Hm?" Nick opened his eyes, focusing in on a very pain staked looking Ellis and his arms wrapped just around where his suture would be. "Aw shit!" He pulled his arms away in a haste, noticing the country boy's arms still laid on his shoulders. "Are you alright?" He asked lowering his voice slightly as Rochelle turned in her sleep.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He sighed, the pain in his side dying quickly. "Just a little sting is all." He made no attempt to move his arms as Nick carefully lowered his into a more optimal place near his hips.

"Are you going to be okay getting back to town?" The gambler asked, the concern in his voice like something Ellis hadn't heard before.

The country boy nodded. "Yeah, we should probably get the others up and start gettin' ready. Virgil's probably wondering where in hell we are." He sat up, moving his hands to rub over his face.

"Sound's like a plan." Nick agreed standing, Ellis shortly after. The country boy turned to the Coach, about to wake him when the conman's hand grabbed a hold of his hand, causing him to turn around. "Before you wake them up..." Nick started, never finishing as he pulled the country boy into a shortened version of a deep kiss. When he pulled away Ellis was a bit surprised, but easily won over by a cunning smirk that laid on Nick's lips as he went to retrieve his gun, jacket, and diesel.

The group was gathered and ready in a number of minutes, their clothes aggravatingly to the point of being almost dry before they noticed the water outside had risen to almost knee depth. Not needed to push it off any longer, Rochelle popped open the door and chucked out a pipe bomb, blowing away a majority of the walkers that stumbled along outside before they descended into the flood.

"It's like the goddamn city of Atlantis." Ellis commented.

"Try to stay out of this shit!" Nick called, climbing up onto a mound of the unfinished rubble and dirt and trying to prevent the water's resistance on his legs. This task proved to be daunting as taking the three stepped over to a latter leaned on the side of nearby building took significantly more time and effort to walk than it would without the sludge.

They hopped from rooftop to rooftop, crossing over a container of slipping dirt as they crossed just before they recognized the choking sound of a nearby smoker. Without even being given the chance to look for it's source, it's slick muscle wrapped around the conman's legs, causing him to land on his face as it started to drag him off the roof top. Ellis was the first to grab for the man as Coach shot near blindly. The country boy had a tight grip on Nick's hand as he literally now was being stretched to the point of defying gravity. Coach took to more shots and the pressure released, causing the gambler to fall to the side of the house dangling by the farm boy's grip. Rochelle then joined his aid as they pulled him back to his feet.

They then dropped to a shed top and into a pick up truck, having no way to further avoid the water as they descended into it once more. They passed another house as the wind blew violently in front of them, causing bright blue tarps to waver and signal the close garage sale.

"Hey, hey! Up this tree house!" Ellis called as he began to climb up the seemingly untouched child structure.

At the top their laid another mountain of dirt and rocks, enough to lead them onto the outer deck of another house. They continued this pattern of up and down, each time trying desperately to get out of the water as the rain only seemed to beat down on them harder. They maneuvered their way back over the RV and around the next set of houses, soon finding the sadistic playground that gave them hope for a safe room close ahead. But to their despair, a distinctive roar ripped through the thunder.

"TAAAANNNKK!" Coach screamed, everyone's eyes darting around to find the massive infected.

The water started sloshing more wildly, promising the creature's nearby attack. Rochelle was the first to begin shooting, the other's following her lead in the same direction until they were able to make a out a very pissed off looking tank. The infected slapped them all aside, sending them into several different directions and hopelessly separating them. Nick pulled himself up out of the water to hear a southern draw scream in the distance and the distance and the vague light of a shot gun up ahead.

"Ellis!" He called, running for the quick flashes that he saw, up and finding the country boy to be firing ahead at monster as it made a target of Rochelle. Nick joined in on the bullet barrage, but seeing the beast give the girl one quick hit, she once again disappeared into the rain. The tank then turned to them, picking up a piece of soaking asfault from the ground below and lifting it high over head. "Ellis, watch out!" Pushing the county boy into the water with him just as the cement passed them.

The tank yelled in a brutal response and charging at them, slapping Ellis aside he lunged at Nick, tossing him again into the confusing cover of the rain. The conman had barely been able to pull himself to his feet when another concrete block came crashing towards him, a small faction of it swiping against his head with a enough force to knock him down and out.

Ellis stood from the water, his hat luckily still in place, and he continued to fire at the giant. After a few more moments of victimizing the survivors, the tank fell with a large splash in the water. The first thing that swept across his mind following was Nick.

"Nick!" He called out.

"Ellis!" Coach called back, of no real use to him as he came running out of the rain as Rochelle limped behind.

"Nick!" Ellis called out again, following to where he had last seen the tank toss a rock of street. "Nick, where are you?!" He soon got his answer. Nick was floating on the water, outstretched and face down. "Holy shit, Nick!" The country boy wasted no time in running to the man's side and pulling his face out of the water, noticing the large scratch that ran across the left side of his fore head. "Nick! Nick! Talk to me!" No response.

"Come on!" Coach called, picking the man up from his hands. "Let's get him inside the safe room!" The three sprinted, Ellis fastest of them all, into the safe room where due to the country boy's demands Coach laid Nick on the floor.

"Nick!" He tried again, lifting up the upper half of the conman's body, still going unanswered. "Nick!" Without a second's thought he stood and ripped the defibrillator off Coach's backside and switched it on. "Come on, Nick! Get up!" He said, rubbing the plates together quickly and shocking the man's chest, only to get a low gurgle as his body jumped. "Shit!"

Ellis began to feel his chest tighten, his heart pounded all too violently as it became like nothing but a deafening drum in his ears. He felt like he couldn't breath, he felt like it was just a nightmare. Any second he would wake up to Nick shouting his name in his deep rolling voice and shoot the smoker that had grabbed him through the window. This couldn't be happening. Not to the fighter who had been pushing forward since the start of all this zombie mess. Not to the single man who had been so willing to drag him along despite his constant ramblings or stories of Keith and put up with him through that pseudo poker face he always wore. This couldn't be happening to the man who just hours ago kissed him with so much passion he had never experienced before in his life and he did his best to return the favor. Not to the man who's dark grey eyes held back all his emotions and just gave him a single glimpse into them, to find hope.

This couldn't be happening. Not to Nick.

Ellis swore and turned to the machine, cracking it's dials up to the highest settings in a single stroke. "Come on, work!" He said again, jamming the plates to the man's chest. There was a visible flash from the electricity and this time the conman's eyes shot wide open and a fountain of water exploded from his mouth, followed by a single cough. "Nick!"

"QUIT SHOCKING ME W-" The man didn't have the time to get the rest of the phrase out of his mouth before Ellis' lips completely covered them, pulling him up sharply by the front of his suit. Nick's heart continued to beat rampantly from the shock, but he had no issues with raising his hand into the country boy's hair and pulling him closer to the kiss. The reality of the situation slowly began to hit him that he had literally just died, and Ellis had been the one to bring him back.

Rochelle and Coach looked to them in shock for a moment before respectfully averting their eyes to anywhere else they could find. They continued for a few seconds longer until Nick's emptied, damp lungs began to beg for oxygen and he pulled away, taking a deep breath. He sighed heavily and slid his hand down to the country boy's face where the faintest line of tears stood out from the rain water.

"You know I probably could've been alive a lot faster had you not been crying." He asked, a smirk appearing on his features.

Ellis chuckled incredulously. "Asshole." He commented, an astonished smile now lighting up his bright blue eyes. "If you we're makin' a bet that Imma go any further in this zombie shit without you, you jus' came up flat broke."

Nick couldn't stop the small laugh that came from him by that gambling pun and pulled himself up to lock lips with the hick again, deepening the kiss for a quick moment before realizing the fact that Coach and Rochelle had their backs turned about two feet away.

He broke away from Ellis' sweet lips and sighed. "You can turn around now." He told them. They turned back to the pair awkwardly, either of them really know what to say.

"So..." Coach attempted to break the silence. "are you two...?"

Ellis and Nick looked to each other for a brief moment, then back to him. "Yep." The country boy answered.

"Got a problem?" The conman asked, giving the man a hard stare as if daring him to comment positively.

"No, no," Coach put his hands up defensively. "It's just not what I'm used to seeing is all."

"Yeah, if you guys were together, why didn't you tell us?" Rochelle asked.

"We'll tell you the story later." Nick said, climbing to his feet carefully as Ellis assisted him. "Right now we need to find a way to signal the boat."

"You know, I've been thinking..." Coach started. ""If we fire up the Burger Tank sign, Virgil might see it."

Rochelle shrugged. "Sounds like a plan."

Ellis looked over to Nick carefully and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ya sure your up to this?" He asked.

Nick had never known someone could look so concerned for him with those eyes. "I'll be okay." He promised.

The country boy looked him with a nod, his concern still remaining as they began to gather their things, patching up Nick's facial cut as the conman hoped to god it wouldn't leave a scar. They opened the last door of safety as they headed out into the water, the promising spitter attempted to nail them but Ellis made the shot of killing her before she was able to spit. They made their way to the restaurant, a lot of walkers with no real bite coming for them only to be dismembered at best. The group climbed onto the roof and being careful for whatever hidden wires there could be, pulled the switch. Suddenly the sign lit up to life and began to rotate, a glowing beacon for both Virgil, and the horde.

They came running from every direction, but what else was new? A hunter pounced Coach just before Rochelle could place a bullet in it's head and a jockey jumped onto Ellis' shoulders just after the black man could take aim with his pistol. The team was making a good run, a few more special infected here and there, but it seemed as if the usual tank that could come at the worst of times did so when Nick had been given his new life.

Everything was smooth until a charger, who had developed the incredibly normal human skill of climbing a latter, pumbled Ellis taking him clear off the roof and into the bushes. Nick swore verbally and jumped down onto one of the interior tables of the restaurant and followed after him. He shot at the beast a good six times before either him or some one else on the roof took it out and he was able to pull the country boy to his feet.

"There's Virgil!" Coach's distant voice was barely audible over the rain. "Get to the boat!"

The two men complied, starting their best to run as they began to notice the ripples in the water they had frighteningly seen not long ago. "Aw shit, hurry it up back there!" Nick called to them, recognizing them to be only given sign of a tank.

"We're here, let's go!" Rochelle called as she and Coach appeared behind them.

They ran onto the docks just as the rumbling footsteps began to become more apparent in the tank's charge.

"Virgil, start her up!" Ellis called to the hillbilly captain as they all climbed on board.

Virgil wasted no time in complying, firing the engine and quickly pulling just out of reach as the tank became visible on the dock's edge. He gave off one final bitter yell as the boat of survivors was carried away and lost in the dying rain.